


Nothing Bad Is Happening

by petiteinsomniac



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Family Fluff, Fluff, HIV/AIDS, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Modern AU, Nobody Dies, dad!whizzer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 01:07:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16608944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petiteinsomniac/pseuds/petiteinsomniac
Summary: When Marvin and Whizzer sit down with Jason to explain that Whizzer is HIV positive, they leave one very important piece of information out. Modern AU.





	Nothing Bad Is Happening

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is a little one-shot set in the modern day, in which Whizzer is HIV positive and Whizzer and Marvin fail to remember that in some ways, Jason is really just a kid. It's mostly dad!Whizzer, which is my favorite thing ever so let me know what you think :)

“Can I go to bed now?” 

Jason raised his query abruptly. Marvin and Whizzer glanced at one another, each of them replaying in their heads the conversation they’d just had. It hadn’t been an easy one, nor one that either of them had been looking forward to having. Whizzer, especially, had been increasingly anxious about Jason’s reaction to his diagnosis. Now, however, he was just thrown off. After listening quietly to their explanation, Jason had just nodded his head once and asked if he could go to bed. 

“Jason, you- you understand what Whizzer and I are telling you, right?” Marvin asked carefully. Jason nodded. 

“I’m not an idiot, okay?” he snapped. “I just want to go to bed.” 

“Jason-” Marvin began; he knew that Whizzer had worried about this whole situation and he didn’t particularly like the tone that the conversation had taken on. But Whizzer rested his hand on Marvin’s knee and shook his head slightly at his lover’s questioning glance. 

“You can go, Jason,” Whizzer said quietly to their son. The room was silent as Jason got up and left, his footsteps receding as he made his way to his bedroom. The door shut behind him with a resounding snap that seemed to echo in Whizzer’s brain. He sighed heavily and leaned forward, resting his head in his hands as Marvin looked on in concern. 

“I’m sorry he-” Marvin began; for the second time, Whizzer shook his head to quiet him. 

“No,” he sighed. “No, it’s not- he has every right to be angry.” Whizzer sounded resigned, defeated, and Marvin physically itched to get up and do something about it. He wasn’t sure what exactly, but something, anything. Whatever it took to rewrite the story so that Whizzer didn’t have to feel like this. 

“He doesn’t, really,” Marvin answered, staying seated and tugging his bottom lip between his teeth to worry it instead of doing anything. He glanced over at the dark hallway and Jason’s closed bedroom door. His son’s reaction didn’t make a lot of sense, though he supposed Jason never really had. No matter how they tried, none of them had ever been able to make much sense out of the kid- none of them, that was, except for Whizzer. 

“He does,” Whizzer argued. He shrugged his shoulders and looked up at Marvin. “He knows how people contract HIV, Marvin, he’s a smart kid. I got it because I left, and now that I’m back I’ve brought it with me. I would be angry, too.” 

Marvin wanted to reassure Whizzer, but he knew that there wasn’t any point. Whizzer, on a good day, could argue with a light post. Instead he sighed and reached out to take Whizzer’s hand. 

“He loves you, Whizzer,” he said softly. “That doesn’t change.” Whizzer tilted his head to the side and exhaled, then looked over at Marvin with a deep kind of sadness in his dark eyes. 

“It could,” he whispered, and as he held Marvin’s gaze they both wondered for a moment if it would. In the quiet, neither of them were really sure. And then, Whizzer’s gaze flickered from his lover’s and he turned his head in the direction of Jason’s room before looking back at Marvin. 

“Do you hear that?” he asked. Marvin listened closely and at Whizzer’s indication found that he did hear it. The sound of badly muffled crying filtered through Jason’s door and the two men looked at one another in silent question. Marvin moved to stand, but Whizzer followed and placed a hesitant hand in Marvin’s. When Marvin looked back, he found Whizzer watching him anxiously. 

“Can, um- can I go?” he asked, his words rushed as they tended to be when he was putting himself out of his comfort zone. Marvin stepped back, wrapping his fingers briefly around Whizzer’s as he nodded his head. He leaned in and pressed his lips to Whizzer’s cheek, a silent show of support that Whizzer would once have believed Marvin incapable of. He offered Marvin a tight smile in return and then pulled away, heading determinedly toward Jason’s bedroom as Marvin sank purposelessly back down onto the couch cushions. Whizzer rapped lightly on the door with another glance back at Marvin and then turned the knob. 

“Jason?” he called softly. He pushed Marvin out of his mind, focusing on the smaller version in the room before him. Jason, curled up on his bed with his back to Whizzer, made a useless effort to stop his crying. 

“Yeah?” he answered, his voice wavering. 

“Are you okay?” Whizzer asked, shutting the door quietly behind him. 

“I’m fine,” Jason said softly. In the soft light of his lamp, Whizzer could see the child’s shoulders shaking and his heart seemed to physically twist within his chest as if the sight alone might cause physical damage. Whizzer drew on his courage and took a few steps forward, bringing him to jason’s side. He perched on the edge of Jason’s bed and looked over at him, longing to hug Jason or hold him or make him laugh. Anything, really, to stop him from feeling the way that he did. But underneath that, Whizzer was also confused. He and Marvin had been so sure of Jason’s anger, but now it seemed that there must be more to it than that. 

“It’s okay to not be okay,” Whizzer began. “But can I ask you why you’re crying?” 

Jason, true to form, rolled his eyes. 

“What a stupid question,” he sniffed, and with that it seemed the anger was back. Whizzer could hear it in his voice, see it in the way he clung to his pillowcase. 

“I’m sorry, Jason, but...I really don’t know,” Whizzer admitted apologetically. “You know that I don’t play games, not with you; if I knew, I wouldn’t be asking.” 

Jason sat up abruptly, so suddenly that it caused Whizzer to jump lightly. He watched Jason as he fiercely tugged his pillow into his arms and clutched it tightly against his chest. In the warm light, Jason’s features were illuminated in a heartbreaking portrait of unnamed distress. 

“How can you not know?” Jason asked. There was a note of desperation in his voice that hung in the air even as he fell silent, clearly expecting an answer. Whizzer fumbled for words, unsure how he was supposed to respond. 

“Why don’t you just explain it to me?” he suggested. Jason sighed. 

“It’s just that- you always leave!” he exclaimed. “You left before and it was awful and miserable and I hated it but then you came back and I thought you were going to be here forever but you had to go and get sick.” He drew in a shuddering breath, but continued before Whizzer could interject. “I read about AIDS, you know,” he said, an accusatory tone underscoring his words as his hazel eyes flashed in Whizzer’s direction. “At school,” he clarified with a nod. “We all did. They taught us about it, how it- it killed all those people. I can’t-I can’t remember the number but it was a lot! It was a lot of people and now the number doesn’t even matter, because I didn’t care enough to remember the number before but now I have a reason to care. And now the only number that matters is one, because one is the number of people I know who are going to die.” He choked on the final word and bowed his head, tearing his gaze away from Whizzer as sobs wracked his thing, gangly teenage body. Whizzer stared at him in utter confusion for a moment before it all clicked into place and total horror overtook him. In all their preparations for this conversation with Jason, it seemed that Marvin and Whizzer had overlooked one very important detail- the necessity of making sure that Jason knew Whizzer was going to be alright. 

“Oh, Jason,” he sighed. “Jason, sweetheart, look at me.” Whizzer fought an internal battle to keep his voice even and calm. Reluctantly, Jason raised his head, meeting Whizzer’s gaze. 

“I just don’t want you to die, I’m not ready to say goodbye to you,” he sobbed. 

“Come here,” Whizzer murmured, and Jason scrambled to curl himself against Whizzer’s chest, wrapping Whizzer’s shirt in his fingers. 

“Shh,” Whizzer soothed. “Listen to me, okay?” Whizzer said. “Sweetheart, nobody has to say goodbye. I’m not going to die. I’m not going anywhere, Jason, I promise.” 

Jason froze, staring up at Whizzer through his tears. 

“What?” he asked. 

“Honey, HIV did kill a lot of people,” Whizzer explained, running his fingers soothingly through Jason’s curls, so reminiscent of Marvin’s. “But that was a long time ago,” he continued. “And in some places, unfortunately, people still die of it. But not here.” He met Jason’s eyes seriously. “Not now. Not me. Okay?” 

“But- so you’re not dying?” Jason asked softly. 

“No,” Whizzer answered confidently. “No. Jason, I’m not dying. I’m going to be just fine, I promise.” He sighed and pulled Jason in close again. “I’m so sorry that we didn’t make sure you knew that,” he said. “Your dad and I really messed up; we didn’t realize that you would think that, but we should have still made sure you understood that nothing bad was going to happen. We only wanted to make sure that you knew, that’s all.” 

“I thought- they told us at school that HIV has no cure,” Jason said quietly. He had gone very still against Whizzer, waiting anxiously for an answer that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear. Whizzer nodded, forcing himself to continue to speak through his discomfort.

“Yes, that’s true,” he admitted. “It doesn’t have a cure, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to die from it. I’m not. They don’t have a cure for it, but they have something that they didn’t have before, which is treatment for it. There are medications that I can take that will keep me healthy even though I am HIV positive.” 

“So you’re gonna take those medicines right?” Jason asked quickly, looking anxiously up at Whizzer. In that moment, Jason seemed so young, and Whizzer was reminded forcefully that this kid- this bright, intelligent, beautiful kid- was really just that: a kid. He nodded his head. 

“I already am,” he said reassuringly. “You don’t need to worry about me, okay? I promise nothing bad is happening, alright?” He held Jason’s gaze for a moment until Jason nodded and buried his head against Whizzer again, holding him tightly. Whizzer turned his head, pressing a kiss against Jason’s curls. 

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he said quietly. “We didn’t mean to scare you like that.” 

“It’s okay,” Jason mumbeld. “As long as you don’t leave.” 

“I’m never leaving you again, Jason,” Whizzer said quietly. “Not ever. Alright?” 

Jason was quiet for a moment.   
“Never?” he asked, and suddenly it was very clear the root of the problem. 

“I can’t say for sure that nothing bad will ever happen,” Whizzer admitted, not relinquishing his hold on Jason. “Because no one can ever know for sure, right? But I can promise you that I would never willingly leave you, okay?” 

Jason, as he took a moment to consider that, snuggled closer to Whizzer. 

“Okay,” he whispered. 

“Hey,” Whizzer said softly, nudging Jason’s curls lightly. “I know you’re kind of old for this, but today has been a lot; if you want to sleep with your dad and I, I promise no one will judge.” 

Once, Whizzer would have laughed in the face of anyone who dared to suggest he might ever find himself in a parent role. Now, he found that it came more easily to him than he could have imagined, and when he was rewarded with the hopeful look on Jason’s face, he suddenly understood what the hype was all about. 

“Are you sure it’s okay?” Jason asked quietly. Whizzer smiled warmly and nodded. 

“I’m sure,” he said. “Come on.” 

Back in the living room, Marvin looked up anxiously. 

“Everything okay?” he asked carefully when he caught sight of Jason trailing Whizzer. 

“Yeah,” Whizzer replied with a glance between father and son. “Jason’s going to sleep with us. You ready for bed?” 

Marvin nodded; though he was utterly confused, he didn’t miss Jason’s worried expression, and didn’t want to contribute by making it into a bigger deal than it needed to be. 

“Yeah,” he said, a gallant attempt at sounding casual. A few minutes later, he was curled up with Jason between him and Whizzer, darkness settling around them. 

“Dad?” Jason said softly into the quiet. 

“Yeah, bud?” 

“I’m glad I’m here with you and Whizzer.” 

Marvin, if asked in that moment, might have been convinced his heart would burst and shatter at his son’s soft admission. Instead of saying as much, he leaned in and kissed Jason’s head. 

“We are too, Jason,” he said quietly. 

And then it was quiet, and a few moments later, with one arm against Marvin’s and his back against Whizzer’s chest, Jason’s breathing had evened out in sleep. 

“Whizzer?” Marvin’s voice drifted over Jason’s gangly limbs and sleeping form to Whizzer, warm and familiar. 

“Hmm?” 

“I love you.” 

Whizzer’s heart skipped a beat and took a few seconds to be grateful that he had come to exist in a time when he was able to be here, in love with Marvin, and reassuring Jason that he didn’t plan on going anywhere. 

“I love you, too,” Whizzer whispered, and as they fell asleep, they were all glad to know that nothing bad was happening.


End file.
